I do, however, remember wanting a dairy cow.
Long before I had chickens, I suggested to my husband that we get a dairy cow. He said that if we ever got a cow, (which was unlikely), it would be a meat cow, not a dairy cow.
Well, at some point we obviously decided to go the dairy goat route, because I did indeed get one. And now I have three. And the purpose all along has been.... milk.
A very common thing people think is that goat milk tastes goat-y or just plain bad. Often people think that and they haven't even tried it!! Did you know that worldwide goat milk is consumed by far more people than cow milk is? Well, sometimes goat milk does taste funky. The taste of goat milk varies depending upon how quickly it is cooled, whether or not there is a buck nearby, what the goat eats, and the cleanliness of the milking process and cleaning of the milking equipment. Some of our milk has tasted less than desirable.
However, the majority of our milk tastes GREAT. My husband cannot tell the difference between cow milk and goat milk, and he now prefers the whole milk & is enjoying the creaminess!
Lots & lots & lots could be said about milk.
Confession: I have very little tolerance for squeamish comments about fresh-from-the-goat milk. If you drink milk and/or eat milk products, I would think that you would want to know where your milk comes from & how long has it been out of the udder & what does the goat or cow eat?! I am wearing dairy-colored glasses however, because my grandfather and my great-grandfather had dairy cows. I grew up very close to a farm & from infant to leaving for college at age 18, all the milk we consumed was raw milk! So it's a very short leap for me to be absolutely 'okay' with raw milk & having a dairy animal!
I will leave it to readers to educate themselves on pasteurized milk vs. raw milk and goat milk vs. cow milk.
As chronicled in two recent blog posts, it has taken me awhile to actually like milking.
I wanted to like it!
I was motivated to like it!
It took me awhile but now I've milked well over 100 times. I have the hang of it. It is well worth it. I can't imagine that I will want to do this forever as it does tie me down to twice/day milking times. However, I am enjoying it!
An explanation of how I milk:
1. Get Clara on the milking stand.
My dad made me a lovely, large milking stand. This is the only place Clara gets grain, (something she loves), so she is motivated to get on the stand. I actually only give her a tiny bit at first. Otherwise she is done too quickly and starts to get antsy waiting for me to finish milking.
2. Teat dip.
I use the same teat dip solution for pre-milking and post-milking. Pre-milking, I want to leave the teat dip on for at least 30 seconds. The purpose of this is to have as clean as possible teats for milking. Teat dip helps kill bacteria on the teats. I have chosen to use a spray bottle to apply teat dip. It is rather expensive and because I am only milking one goat it is less wasteful to spray, rather than to use a traditional teat dip cup.
3. Udder Wash.
Some people use baby wipes, some use a bleach solution. I have chosen to basically use soap and warm water and a washcloth. I was down her udder and her teats. Then I dry with a separate cloth.
4. First squirts of milk!
These first squirts of milk do not go in my milking pail. They have the highest levels of bacteria. Ideally, squirt these first squirts into a strip cup, which is a little metal cup with a screen on top. I have a cup with a dark blue bottom that seems to work just as well.
Inspect for flakes, clumps, lumpy milk. This may be an indication of mastitis. PTL we have had no issues, so far, with mastitis. I have also just begun testing for mastitis once/month with a California Mastitis Test Kit. I am still learning how to use it, but basically if the milk & the mixture form a gel-like substance, mastitis is present.
(milk, separated by teat)
(Assuming I did this correctly, the mixture remained liquid-like which means no mastitis.)
At this point I give Clara the remainder of her grain.
5. Time to Milk!
Teat size is genetic, but orifice size is not. I have milked Clara's mother and she has small teats. Clara has small teats as well, which makes milking slightly more difficult. However, with milking, the teats have become more elongated and I no longer have any problem milking due to teat size.
Milking goats, unlike milking cows, does not require a stool. That is why I have a milking stand. I sit on the milking stand near the rear of Clara. Actually, I usually put my feet up as well - mostly because I am scared of snakes and we have a lot of snakes on our property!
When I began I was new to milking and Clara was also new to milking. At first it took me about 40 minutes to milk! Arg! I'm guessing now the actual milking takes me about 10 minutes now.
Each time I milk I want to get all the milk out of the udder that I can. Once I have done this, I massage each side of the udder. This lets down a bit more milk and I milk that out as well. I then strip each teat.
6. Teat dip again!
It takes about 30 minutes for the teat orifices to no longer allow bacteria to enter. This time when I spray the teat dip I do not wipe it off, I leave it on.
After Clara jumps off the stand I will usually dump my udder wash water on the stand, which washes away some iodine drips and goat hair and sprayed milk.
7. Take care of the milk!
I take care of my goat milk right away. Even before the rest of my morning animal chores. Milk leaves Clara at more than 100 degrees and it needs to get to 40 degrees as quickly as possible.
Thanks to my mother's problem solving abilities, I decided not to buy a milk strainer, although I do have a big one that attaches to my cream separator. I use a strainer over a measuring cup, for the most part. I prefer not to use disposable products if I can help it so I have chosen to use butter muslin. I only use each piece once before washing.
Clara is a first time freshener which means she will produce more milk next year then she has this year. It's been 9.5 weeks since she gave birth. I am getting a little over 4 cups, (or 1 quart), per milking. The stress of getting used to our new pasture has cut down her production slightly right now. This means we are getting more than 3.5 gallons of milk a week. (Isn't that exciting!?)
My method for cooling the milk quickly is to put it in the freezer for awhile, and then back to the fridge.
(milk from tonight's milking)
8. Lastly, take care of the equipment.
Up until recently I have washed the milk pail just like I have washed my other dishes. However, I am transitioning into using a dairy wash & sanitizer solution. I'm unsure how many 'home dairies' use these methods but I want to do everything I can to ensure good milking and dairy practices. I am still figuring these methods out, but to my understanding:
start with a dairy wash
Then use a sanitizer made for stainless steel dairy equipement.
The suggestion is once a week to use an acid detergent.
(I'm still working out the kinks!)
Ready for next time!
And That is what milking is like for me!
It is incredibly satisfying to have your own dairy animal & to have your own milk!! I highly recommend it! And to answer a much-asked question: Yes someday I do hope to make lots of cheese & yogurt & maybe kefir & soap & other delicious things. However, right now I have my hands full! (And my heart is rather full as well. I kinda love this milking thing & I've been waiting awhile to reach this goal!)
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